slow cooker quick questions thread

RustyFlange

Phi wrote: »

Looking to buy a 3.5 litre Slow Cooker (I think that is the right size for 2 - 3 people) and was initially going to get the Morphy Richards 48710

I have however now seen that Tesco have their own 3.5L model at only £9.96 at present

Is this Tesco model any good as it seems to good to be true

I know uner £10 is not much these days but I have found in the past that cheap does not always mean good value and often it is better to pay more for something that will be the better buy over time

Can anyone enlighten me as to the Tesco model or should I just stick with and buy the Morphy Richards one

We purchased a tesco slow cooker 2 weeks ago, so far it has been used 5 times with perfect results! I really recommend this model to anyone! We are a family of 4 and the 3.5 litre is plenty big enough for us. and always extra to freeze including making up meals for our daughter (17 months)

Phi_2

RustyFlange wrote: »

We purchased a tesco slow cooker 2 weeks ago, so far it has been used 5 times with perfect results! I really recommend this model to anyone! We are a family of 4 and the 3.5 litre is plenty big enough for us. and always extra to freeze including making up meals for our daughter (17 months)

Thanks -- I assume it comes with instructions, although as I have seen elsewhere no recipes, which is a pain as they give a good guide to what the low and high settings are

However I think you have convinced me to buy one

sweetserendipity

Hi everyone,
I've just bought a reduced rolled brisket in the co-op & tbh I don't know what to do with it?!:eek:
I do have a slow cooker. Only bought it a couple of weeks ago & haven't used it yet but would like to cook the brisket in it if possible?
The weight is 1.438 kg so if I put it in now, how long would it take to cook? We usually have dinner about 6pm so would it be ready by then?!
Also, can I put veg in with it? I have onion, shallots, green beans, carrots & parsnips.
A quick reply would be welcome!
Thank you.

Edit - After quickly reading other posts about brisket I've decided to bung it in the freezer for another day!! Think it might take longer to cook than I estimated - I don't want chewy meat!! Ugh!!
Anyway, if anyone can help with timings etc. I would be very grateful.

carebearbecky

My mum always used to do brisket in the slow cooker and she'd just bob it in first thing in the morning and then when we got in on a sunday evening it would be falling apart at dinner at 8. I think provided it's in there for a while, timings aren't really that much of an issue....

Might have to get a piece myself for this weekend now... getting brisket cravings!

Phi_2

I have bought one of the Tesco Slow Cookers today for £9.96 as my first slow cooker -- and seems a bargain

Instructions are quite basic (no recipes) and say that the normal setting would be high for a cooking time of 7 - 8 hours and that Low is for re-heating pre-cooked food

Is this right as I would have thought that Low could be used for a cooking time of 8 - 10 hours (High for 7 - 8 hours is no good when going to work) rather than re-heating

I see many other makes say that medium would be the norm for recipes for around 7 - 8 hours, but there is no medium setting with the Tesco one

I also notice the Tesco model is rated 174W - 207W, whereas others seem to be lower in wattage (Morphy Richards only say 170W) making me think the high setting could be too high even for 7 - 8 hours

Can anyone advise on this please and how best to use the Low and High settings

Bongedone

Mine is 220w and I never use the high setting except to warm it up. I always use low for 7-8 hours. Not sure what wattage low uses but I have bought an energy meter and will be testing it next time I use it.

Siemo

Phi wrote: »

Can anyone advise on this please and how best to use the Low and High settings

Hi!
I bought the same SC last week and am having the same dilemma...so far I'm just doing it by trial and error! I think you're right in saying the high setting could be too high to leave all day - I put my sausage casserole on high this morning and after an hour turned it down to low because it was bubbling furiously. Having said that, I made a stew on Friday and left it on low for about 7 hours (put ingredients in hot to give it a head start) and although it was tasty I thought the meat was a little chewy not as tender as everyone on this board says it should be.....so I'm afraid I can't be much help! Tomorrow I'm going to work so will have to leave it on while I'm out. I'm doing the caribbean chicken and will have to put the ingredients in cold as I won't have time to brown it all first, so will probably leave it on high. I don't suppose it would hurt for it to bubble away for a long time? Presumably it will take a while to get hot anyway. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can come along and give us both some good advice!!

avstar

Firstly I also bought the Tesco slow cooker - I think it's higher wattage than many of the old style slow cooker,s so for me I've been mainly using it on low as the high setting is too high. Bubbles away nice and slowly on low.

But please can I ask some general advice, I'm struggling with the greasyness of the food:o

Think I've spent so many years trying to cut down on fat and grilling/roasting on a rack/baby George'ing that the thought of meat in it's own juices doesn't appeal.

For example sausage casserole - even with high meat content sausages I would have grilled them and there's always fat in the grill pan - this would just be swimming around inthe casserole ? :eek:

I did a veggie/bean type thing the other day and that was fine as no meat, but what low fat recipes/cuts of meat/tips does anyone have?

Rikki

avstar wrote: »

For example sausage casserole - even with high meat content sausages I would have grilled them and there's always fat in the grill pan - this would just be swimming around inthe casserole ? :eek:

You brown the sausages first so why not !!!!! them and let the fat drain out before adding them to the casserole.

RustyFlange

Phi wrote: »

I have bought one of the Tesco Slow Cookers today for £9.96 as my first slow cooker -- and seems a bargain

Instructions are quite basic (no recipes) and say that the normal setting would be high for a cooking time of 7 - 8 hours and that Low is for re-heating pre-cooked food

Is this right as I would have thought that Low could be used for a cooking time of 8 - 10 hours (High for 7 - 8 hours is no good when going to work) rather than re-heating

I see many other makes say that medium would be the norm for recipes for around 7 - 8 hours, but there is no medium setting with the Tesco one

I also notice the Tesco model is rated 174W - 207W, whereas others seem to be lower in wattage (Morphy Richards only say 170W) making me think the high setting could be too high even for 7 - 8 hours

Can anyone advise on this please and how best to use the Low and High settings

Hi we use the high setting most on our tesco slow cooker, however on sunday we had a beef casserole and OH started it at 10am on low and we ate at 6 and it tasted lovely the meat just fell apart obviously it was browned off first but it was perfect.

Hope this helps somewhat?

We do mainly cook on high however we also switch it to low after so long aswell